Our initial experience and thoughts

We are about to embark on our new home build and i will be posting all updates and notes here. I found information scarce when i was searching for details regarding your experiences with building with Clarendon; so i am hoping this helps some of you with your new build. In the meantime, live vicariously!

We are looking at building the Boston 36 with a Gallery facade (image of facade above, taken from Clarendon website). We have a 600sqm block in the Penrith council area. Our initial goal was to build the Sheridan 39 but we were told due to council restrictions this home could not fit onto our block of land - something to do with the ratio of living space you are allowed to have. We have our tender appointment coming up next week so we will have more information then.

The starting price for the Boston 36 with the sapphire specifications was $412,000 so it'll be interesting to see what price we will end up with. We have a lot of upgrades that we want to do, and we think need to do also. More on that as we progress.

If i can comment on our interactions with Clarendon to date - they have been fabulous. Our sales consultant Peter from the Parklea centre has been wonderful to deal with; responsive, attentive, full of knowledge. The one negative we have encountered so far is that some of the initial costs were not clearly explained to us. We have over spent on our block of land and we really need to budget for every thousand required moving forward. It was only at confirmation of the tender appointment we were told that we will need to pay another $4000 to proceed. We have only paid $1000 to date. There was also miscommunication as to then the first payment, which is 5% is due. We were told the first payment is due once the slab is down (and that we would have 4-5 months before they can start the build) - however it turns out we need to pay 5% once we accept the contract. This is due to happen about a month after the tender appointment. With that being said, we just dont have the 5% as we need to sell our current home to get any more funds for the build. When advised, Clarendon was fabulous, with a simple conversation they were happy to accept $10,000 at this stage rather than the full 5%. The flexibility is wonderful, we really hope it continues.

Our current quote is sitting at well over $600,000 - but we have included a LOT of provisional allowances for all kinds of upgrades, along with a sizable allowance for site costs.

We are also currently looking into pool quotes i will share a pool post once we have sourced the quotes.

More to come after the tender appointment...

What i have learned: I will try and share my 'nuggets of wisdom' with each post. Please understand these are only based on our own personal experiences.
If you are approaching this stage for your own build don't be scared of adding extra allowances. I truly feel its better to have funds you will not use, rather than receiving a shock at contract stage. Consider things like extra insulation based on where your home is located, where its facing. Also BASIX requirements have changed and this can add a couple of thousand depending on which way your home is facing. If your block is bush fire affected please budget for this also - depending on your BAL rating your options will also be affect. Our block has initially been classified with BAL 12.5 which is the lowest rating you can get and we have been advised to budget $8000 into the allowance for this. Please also think of items like soundproofing, tiling outdoor areas, fly screens, driveways, landscaping, retaining walls, window coverings etc.

Please feel free to ask any questions & enjoy the journey!

nevie